On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 11:50 AM, JoelMatthews <[email protected]> wrote: >> With the apparent popularity of the Atlantis frame as the basis of an >> "all-rounder" type bicycle, I wonder why Grant doesn't source it >> domestically. > > That is a good question which has been debated off and on here > before. I think Waterford either does not have capacity with > everything else it is doing or does not want to make something that > competes with its product and some of its other subcontracting > products. Personally I would like to see it happen.
I've wondered this too, because it seems like there's a price point at which it makes sense to have those same frames produced in the US rather than Japan. Part of the problem is that there are few options domestically for getting mid-size batches of production frames built outside of Waterford, and it's not clear that Waterford is interested (or maybe able) to make the quantities that they'd need for the Atlantis at the right price. Also, while there are some exceptions for short-run bikes (such as the Legolas and the very early models), it seems like Grant has tied frame models to their source. It seems like, for him, if an Atlantis is built by someone other than Toyo, it's no longer an Atlantis but a different model. Because he's been very transparent about the source for frames, maybe Riv buyers are overly aware of this and it becomes a problem to switch builders (unsold old models, or people seeing the new source as inferior). Maybe it's just easier to make big enough changes that the change in source isn't the focus. -- Bill Connell St. Paul, MN -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
